Priti Jain, M.H.A, CPHQ
Director of Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Management
Texas Health Southwest and Texas Health Clearfork
Length of service at Texas Health: 13 years
What did you want to be as a kid, and how did you ultimately choose your career? When I was younger I was interested in two different areas — health care and law. Initially I wanted to be a physical therapist. During my brief time in a Doctorate in Physical Therapy program, with some self-reflection, I realized that I was interested in health care, but not from the perspective of working as a clinician. I had become more aware of my interests in policies, procedures and compliance. Looking around, I felt the Master of Science in Healthcare Administration would be more reflective of the type of work I would want to do for a very long time. During my course work, I became very interested and passionate about health care law. I interned with a health care organization in the Legal, Compliance and Quality departments, and discovered the path I wanted to take.
What is the biggest challenge of your work? External financial demands (increasing costs or decreasing/lack of payments) are impacting the potential to provide better and more effective care. In our organization, we keep patient safety top of mind in all meetings and with the work we do. We have to learn to do things differently and better, considering the financial “squeeze.”
What do you like most about your job? I enjoy many things about my work, starting with the people I work with. We are all striving for a common goal, purpose and vision. In every interaction I see the passion for continuous improvement, which is the common thread that aligns our work.
What new and different things are you doing to support our Consumer Focus? My team and I have been “consumer focus” driven since I have been in my role. Each of us feels we are the patient’s advocate, and the work we do is driven from the perspective of the patient and family. Each individual, role, responsibility and task is patient- and family-driven. When we work with our team and individuals outside of our department, through project work, review of Serious Safety Events and follow up on chart reviews, for example, the communication and actions start with the consumer in mind.
How is your department working to meet KPIs? My department collaborates with staff, leaders and physicians on performance improvement projects to improve KPI results, ultimately improving outcomes and patient experience. Our team members facilitate KPI projects and connect other work being done outside our organization to achieve a common goal.
